18 August 2019

The Golden Gate



I don't know what got me thinking about San Francisco this morning. Or maybe it wasn't that at all — I just happened to stumble over these photos of the Golden Gate Bridge that I took in January 1999. I had just gotten my first digital camera, a Kodak DC260, as a Christmas gift from Walt and CHM.

Walt and I lived in San Francisco from 1986 until 1992, and then again from 1995 until 2003. In between, we lived 50 miles south in the heart of Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale) for 3+ years. We were both working down there. When we finally got around to buying a house, we decided to buy one in SF, not in the Valley. We missed the place that is called “The City” out there — the sights, the restaurants, the shops, the atmosphere...

We found a house we liked and could afford to buy on Congo Street in SF. We lived just three miles from the Pacific Ocean beaches, five miles from the Golden Gate, and four miles from downtown SF (the Financial District). We were in a residential neighborhood, close to two supermarkets and two wine shops that sold French wines, and with good public transit that would whisk us downtown. We liked the house and the area (Glen Park).

For walks on weekend mornings, we could easily drive up to the Golden Gate or out to Ocean beach and let our dog Collette, a Sheltie mix, run on the beach. You can see that she enjoyed it. So did we. I took these photos on January 3rd, 1999. As you can also see, SF winters were pretty nice. They were actually better than the summers, which were windy, foggy, and damp. Collette moved to France with us in 2003 and passed away here in 2006 at the age of 14.

8 comments:

  1. I think I was with you on that beach when you took these photos with your brand new camera. I had stopped for a few days in San Francisco on my way to Salton City. Memories!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In the early days of digital photography, digital cameras were still very expensive. I don't remember how much Walt and I paid for your camera, but I do remember I paid close to a grand a couple years earlier for my Kodak DC50.

      Delete
    2. You were probably with us. I know you spent Christmas at our house. And yes, digital cameras were pretty expensive 20 years ago. And they are getting expensive again now, because so many people use their smartphones as cameras. Capitalism: when demand for a product is high, companies up the prices because supply is deemed to be low. When demand is low, and supply is high, companies raise the prices because they need for the few who are buying to give them more dollars. You can't win.

      Delete
  2. Collette looks to have been having a blast :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She was having a blast. She loved going to the beach. Tasha acted he same way when we took her to run on a sandy beach on the Ile de Noirmoutier last year.

      Delete
  3. The red in Colette's fur and the bridge work well together for a great photo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Is that the "clothing optional" beach at SF or is that beach closer to the Golden Gate Bridge? I have never been there but have been frequently to our local clothing optional beach, but then I got a basal cell cancer on my neck and decided that I was not going to risk any unpleasant death. Roderick

    ReplyDelete

What's on your mind? Qu'avez-vous à me dire ?